End of Days
by Tomboy13
Summary: Spencer Reid, a government worker, finds himself thrown into the middle of a conspiracy that threatens to shake the very foundation of his world.
1. Chapter 1

**Don't own Criminal Minds**

**A/N**

**This story is an AU and a gift to a friend who wanted me to write a story using the prompt, 'People disappearing in the middle of the night with a government connection.'**

**I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"You're late."<p>

A young lanky boy slid his keycard into a scanner and pushed open a glass door, sighing in frustration as the programmed voice read out his information.

"_Dr. Spencer Reid, age twenty-four. Census department_." The door then locked behind him and the glass became opaque, making it impossible for anyone to see inside the room.

"I'm sorry. I got held up in a security check point." Spencer Reid breathed out, pushing back his long hair.

A smirk appeared on the other man's face, "They thought you had forged your papers, didn't they?"

Reid nodded as he pulled off his messenger bag and set it at his desk. "I guess they didn't think that someone my age could be a code reader for the Census. I'm sorry again, Gideon."

Jason Gideon sighed and pulled off his glasses, peering intently at Reid. "We'll have to fix that. Come on, let's get started."

Gideon led Reid around the pristine white room that held two crystal screens with thousands of numbers flashing across the screen at an extreme pace.

"This will be your station. Your job will be to read these lines of code and input the data into this book. You can use any means of input, whatever's easiest for you but you'll be expected to re-input it into something readable for your weekly reports."

Reid nodded and took a seat in front of the screens, easily scanning the pace of the numbers just as simple as an old pro.

"The higher ups at the academy tell me that you'll probably be one of the best code readers we'll ever have and heaven knows we've been going through them too fast to keep up."

Reid blinked and turned to look at Gideon, intent on asking him what had happened to the other code readers but Gideon forced his head forward, "Keep reading, Spencer. The code is constantly streaming in and you don't want to miss anything critical."

"Of course."

* * *

><p>"Today is Monday, April 3rd 2056. A reminder today that sectors one through four will be experiencing formulated clouds and rain until three so please plan accordingly. Another reminder, all citizens must carry their identification keycards on them at all times and security officers have the right to ask for cards at any time. Compliance is mandatory. Curfew will be at nine o'clock tonight for restricted cards, so make sure you are in your designated block before the clock turns or enforcers will be called in."<p>

A young blonde woman was standing in front of green screen, reading off the teleprompter of news bulletins and reminders, her voice pleasant even though the message she was broadcasting was far from it.

"And you're clear Miss. Jareau." A technician spoke as the light on the camera went off.

"Excellent." Jareau stepped neatly off her pedestal and nearly tumbled head long into another tech who was zipping by at full speed.

"Hurry and encrypt that broadcast! Someone's trying to intercept it again!"

Jareau made her way calmly through the chaotic techs who were desperately attempting to keep her noon day broadcast from being overtaken by some unknown force. It didn't matter to her though, she had done her work.

"Nice update, Miss. Jareau." A bubbly voice sounded from her left and she turned and saw a shorter blonde beaming at her from behind a pair of thick framed glasses.

"Thanks Pen." Jareau smiled and led the way to her corner office, allowing Pen to enter first before shutting the door.

"Any bugs?" Jareau asked as Pen quickly made herself comfortable.

"One but I got it. They really need to do a better job of hiding these things, huh JJ?"

JJ instantly covered her friend's mouth, "Shh! Penelope! We don't use that name here, remember?"  
>Penelope waves her arms over her head to signal JJ to let her go, "Sorry, forgot but you know I got all the bugs Jennifer. There's no need to worry."<p>

JJ took a seat across from her friend and went over the next hour's broadcast notes. "I'd rather be safe than sorry. Good work with the intercept by the way, is it traceable?"

Penelope scoffed as if JJ had mortally offended her, "Traceable? Honey, not even a trained code reader could figure out where I sent that signal."

JJ laughed quietly and flipped the page on her notes, "Good."

* * *

><p>Aaron Hotchner was an intimidating figure as he marched his way crisply down the halls, keeping his face stoic as people scrambled to get out of his way.<p>

"Still busy scarin', kids, eh?"

Hotchner halted his march and turned sharply to the right, his hand going down to his side holster until he noticed who had spoken.

"Foyet." He greeted coldly to another man across the hall. The other man was shorter, older looking and wearing a well-worn leather jacket. He had a grin on his face that only served to make him look crazed.

"Aw come on, Aaron, you could at least call me George."

"I'd rather not and I'm rather busy at the moment so if you'll excuse me."

He moved to continue walking but Foyet caught him by his sleeve. "You got called in for that hack on the broadcast channel, right? If you need an enforcer you know who to call though…"

Hotch pulled himself from Foyet's grip, "If I need someone sliced open by a maniac I'll keep you in mind, Foyet. Now, excuse me."

He walked off, leaving Foyet behind with a dark look on his face. Hotch continued walking through the government building, taking an elevator to the very bottom level. He flashed his security badge at the man waiting in the hallway and continued down until he found himself sliding his keycard into a scanner and shaking hands with Jason Gideon.

"It's been awhile, Jason." Hotchner greeted as he looked around the room, "When did you get sent to the Census department?"

"Three months ago, I'm not much of a code reader but I'm good at supervising them." Gideon chuckled, waving his hand behind himself at Reid, who was busy writing his work down. "You're still with Public Security, I see."

"That's what brings me here today. I was wondering if you're reader could tell me who was accessing broadcast systems at noon."

Gideon shifted uncomfortably, "He's new. You might not get anything."

"I'd still like to talk to him."

Gideon huffed, "Fine but you'll have to wait until his break. It's dangerous to break a reader from streaming code."

Hotchner nodded and got comfortable to wait for the endless stream of code to slowly turn itself off to give its reader a break. The code would still be received and the reader would be hard pressed to catch up but in the early days, before the mandatory breaks and sleep periods, many readers died, simply unable to turn away from the code.

"How are you holding up, Spencer?"

"Fine Gideon!" The boy sounded utterly delighted, "I had one more hour left in that session."

Gideon looked completely flabbergasted, "Only an hour?"

"Yes sir, you see once I understood the pattern of code that was constantly-"

"Later, Spencer. This is Public Security Agent Aaron Hotchner. He would like to ask you some questions."

Spencer's brown eyes moved quickly over to Hotchner, who held out his hand in greeting, only to have Spencer simply wave at him.

"What did you need, Agent?"

"The code that streams into here is from the movements of everyone who scans their identification cards?" Hotchner asked.

"Correct, I help keep track of our sector's movements and help adjust things as necessary. For example if I notice that more and more people are checking out a certain book at the library I'll be able to recommend that we order more copies of that book."

"Very good and you're also able to figure out who is accessing government controlled networks? Such as broadcasting?"

"…well, yes…but I don't think that's really my job-"

"I need you to tell me who accessed that network at noon." Hotchner ordered and Reid timidly picked up his book.

"Five people did, they're all registered users of that network though."

"Give me the page of your notebook with their names."

"I don't know-"

"Now, Reid."

Reid tore out the page and handed it over to Hotchner who tucked it into his coat pocket and turned to face Gideon again, "He's good, Jason but you might want to train him a little better."

Gideon nodded and said his good byes as Hotchner left the room.

"What just happened, Gideon?" Reid asked, softly, still staring at the door that Hotchner had disappeared through.

"You just survived your first day."

* * *

><p>Reid's next few weeks of work went by without any sort issue. He arrived on time and never needed to stay late. His weekly reports were without mistakes and Gideon often took to bringing him a snack for his break. He was enjoying his work immensely and found little problem with it until one day he noticed that three codes he had come to expect at the sector's library stopped showing up. He also noticed that their keycard activity had completely disappeared from the system, something that was impossible for anyone who wanted to be a legal citizen to do. It was strange and he made a note to ask Gideon about it on his break.<p>

"I got a real treat for you today, Spencer. Coffee, organic, not that processed crap you're always drinking."

Reid's eyes lit up and he took the cup eagerly from Gideon, "Thank you!" He happily took a sip as he flipped through the pages of his notebook. "Gideon, I have a question."

"What is it?" Gideon asked, taking a bite of his own snack.

"If someone dies, their keycard goes inactive and that code is sent to us right?"

"That's correct."

"But what if we don't get that code and we just completely stop getting codes from that person and I-what's wrong?"

As he had spoken, Gideon had gotten up quickly and made to check on the door, ensuring it was locked.

"How many have you noticed?" He asked quietly.

"Three…but I don't-"

"Listen to me, Spencer. Forget about it, alright?"

"Gideon, I just can't forget about three people going missing. Agent Hotchner could help, couldn't he?"

"No!" He grabbed Spencer by the shoulders and held him roughly in place, "Don't ask questions around here. Just do your reports about where we need to change traffic lights or what books we should get and leave this alone."

"I-alright, Gideon. I'm sorry."

Gideon muttered that he forgave him and that it wasn't really his fault because he didn't know any better but Reid knew that he had somehow scared the older man and he was determined to find out why.

* * *

><p><strong>Derek Morgan hasn't show up yet but believe me he will lol, Rossi and Prentiss too and maybe a few more unsubs. If there's anyone you'd like to see let me know and I'll see if I can work them into the story<strong>

**Please review!  
><strong>


	2. Readers

**Don't own CM**

**Thank you all reviewers!**

* * *

><p>A sector was made up of a half dozen or so block zones with the ones closest to the center housing the two or three government buildings. Public Security had their own building, a two story one from the outside but with three underground levels for cells, interrogations and other business. The other was a three story hospital, funded entirely by the government. The last building was five stories with five underground levels, the bottom was for the Census department and the top held the current commander, formerly called a mayor, of the sector.<p>

Spencer Reid originally lived in block zone five with other lower class families but since his appointment to the Census department he was moved to block zone three with the other government workers. The difference between the zones was amazing to him. The security enforcers were still out and about but they didn't hound people like they did in BZ5 and the artificial sun was programed to hit the nicer zone at the most perfect angle for the best sunrise while the other zones were stuck with terrible glares in the morning.

The only problem Spencer Reid ever ran into was the security check points between zones and today, it seemed, was no different.

He walked up to the two beefy enforcers standing at the gates that lead through zone two, which he would have to walk through to get to his office, and held out his identification card. One man grabbed it from him and peered at it,

"Spencer Reid…oh man I'm sorry, _doctor_ Spencer Reid."

Reid fidgeted with his bag, "I'm a code reader for the Census…"

"A Reader, huh? I hear all of you freaks understand is code, is that true?"

"Well…no, obviously I understand English as well. Didn't Jason Gideon talk to yo-OOF!"

Reid was knocked to the ground by the first enforcer, who held his baton like a pointer stick at Reid's face, turning it on so the young man could see the electricity charging through it.

"We get poor shits like you with forged cards and papers everyday trying to slip through this net. So shut your mouth until I tell you otherwise!"

"Officer Dobbs, that is enough."

Hotch had approached the scene while other workers had scurried off to find other security entrances.

"This Reader was giving me lip, sir."

Hotch knelt down and pulled Reid to his feet, stepping in front of him as he continued to speak, "You know as well as I do that that card is legitimate. Now stop holding up this line and scan him in."

Dobbs nodded hurriedly and scanned Reid's card, he handed over to Hotch who then was scanned in himself.

"Let's go, Reid." Hotch muttered as he began to walk, "I doubt this will happen again." He added loudly enough for Dobbs to hear.

"I…uhm…thank you Agent Hotchner."

"Please, call me Hotch."

They walked through zone together and exchanged pleasant conversation. Hotch was enjoying the younger man's enthusiasm for his work. Reid found that Hotch wasn't as scary as he had been during their first encounter. The man was intelligent and seemed to care greatly for the city. He couldn't see the harm in at least asking about what he had found almost a week ago.

"Uh, Hotch, could I ask you something?"

Hotch nodded, "What is it?"

"How often do people go missing in our sector?"

Hotch's face moved only a millimeter but it was enough for Reid to catch, "No one goes missing in this sector." He stated calmly.

"The code says otherwise."

Hotch stopped entirely and turned to face Reid, "You can see that in the code?"

"Of course. They just fall out of the pattern…it's weird."

"Listen to me, Reid. I'll…I'll look into it but I don't want you speaking about it again unless it's to me, understood?"

"Of course." Reid responded as Hotch stepped away from him.

"Good." He waved good-bye to Reid and walked off toward the Public Security building, leaving Reid confused but rushing to get to work on time. Reid scanned himself into the building and hurried to the elevator, taking it down the bottom level.

Gideon turned to face him as he entered the Census department, the glass on the door going opaque behind him just as it always did.

"Right on time." Gideon smiled and Reid gave him a breathless wave.

"Sorry, I was speaking with Hotch and I almost lost track of time."

Gideon cocked his head to the side and sat down heavily in his chair, "What did you talk about?"

Spencer knew he had reached a crossroads in his conversation with Gideon and he side stepped around the man to walk to his own seat, "Well he helped me through the security check point…so we just chatted on our way here."

Gideon glanced up at the clock and motioned for Spencer to sit down, "That's nice."

* * *

><p>Penelope Garcia had received an email communication at about noon. She read it, giggled and hurried off to find JJ, who was just finishing up her broadcast.<p>

"Miss Jareau!" Garcia cried, waving with a vigor as she made her way past haggard looking technicians.

"Pen? What's up?" JJ asked quietly with a small smile on her face.

"Just got an e-mail from my bear and it's got some juicy details!"

JJ laughed and followed Garcia to her own office, where the brilliant tech had rewired the system to suit her own needs.

JJ sat down as Garcia busied herself with locking the door and bringing up the email, making sure to cover her networking tracks.

"Ok, listen to this. Derek says that he just got wind from a source that there's a Reader who can totally help us."

JJ looked confused, "A Reader? I don't understand. All they do is log reports on traffic systems and library books."

Garcia grinned, "This Reader is apparently from the Census, which means he gets information from _everything _in this sector."

JJ's eyes went wide with realization, "A Reader that could help us prove that people are going missing?"

"If we got that information public…"

A knock at the door caused the two women to jump and a few seconds later, a man let himself in.

"We need a goddess out here, Garcia. All the signals were crossed by that new guy."

Garcia sighed dramatically and pushed herself up from the chair, "Sorry, Miss Jareau. Duty calls."

JJ nodded and rose from her seat as well, "No problem."

* * *

><p>Derek Morgan was a powerfully built man. He boasted muscles that most enforcers only dreamed about and knew more about disarming a man in unarmed combat than anyone else. He was a man who lived on forged keycards and his own wit to get by. He was also a key member of an underground group determined to overthrow the government. He snapped his communicator shut and smiled to himself as he turned down an alleyway. The news from his contact inside the Public Security office was the break his group had been desperate for. He walked through the slums every day and he knew people were going missing and he knew that the government was behind it but without solid proof there was no way to take their case to the people. No one was going to stand up to the government without proof.<p>

They were afraid and rightly so.

The government had a gift for crushing trouble before it formed. Readers were told that their jobs were to monitor things so the government could adjust accordingly to help its citizens. In reality, the gifted Readers were actually being used to track people.

If a man attempted to locate information on a subject that was considered taboo, the Reader would log it as something the government would have to explore and assist but the government instead would begin watching that man's movements and if they felt threaten, they would take him away in the middle of the night.

It was something that was common knowledge and yet still shrouded in complete mystery.

Derek Morgan wanted to free the people from the choking oppression and with the help of a Reader talented enough to notice code missing, he finally thought it possible.

Morgan still didn't know where people were being taken after they were dragged away during the night by enforcers but he grinned when he spotted the woman who was looking into it.

"Emily, surprised to see you out and about so early." He greeted.

Emily Prentiss, the daughter of a member of the sector commander's cabinet, gave Morgan a wave.

"I had to drop some papers off for my mother."

"Always exciting times for you." Morgan teased.

"At least it's _legal_." She responded, taking a few steps ahead of him, "But we all know how boring that usually is."

Morgan shifted for a moment, digging out his communicator from his pocket and fiddling with it for a moment, "Read this."

He handed the device to Prentiss, who took it without a word, and began to scan the contents.

"…are you serious, Morgan? There hasn't been a Reader that talented in decades."

"They're a rare breed." Morgan agreed, taking back his device, "And even rarer for one of them to be _that _quick. I also got a note that he can read an entire day's worth of code in a few hours."

"So, you plan on talking to this kid?"

"Without a doubt."

* * *

><p><strong>Derek Morgan would be an awesome future resistance member lol <strong>


	3. Plot

**Don't own CM**

**Thank you all reviewers!**

* * *

><p>Aaron Hotchner slid his keycard into the cafeteria reader and selected his meal, a cup of soup and a roll with a bottle of juice.<p>

"Not the healthiest of meals." A voice to his left spoke and Hotch glanced over at its source.

"Derek Morgan." He breathed out, taking his meal and walking away to a seat in the corner. They were outside and across the street from the Public Security office and Hotch had no reservations about why the rebel was there. "You moved to this zone rather quickly."

"With good reason, I assure you." Morgan smiled, swiping Hotch's roll as he sat across from the older man. "The Reader you told me about. I want to talk to him."

"Impossible. Not in this zone anyway which is why I told you to wait." Hotch replied coolly, eyeing his stolen roll with a deadpanned look.

"C'mon. We've done it before; just put us in one of your interrogation rooms. No one will question you."

"They might question the fact you don't have a keycard. Paper identification is becoming phased out; you'll have to step up your game soon." Hotch sipped on his soup with a neutral look on his face.

"I suppose you have a point." Morgan dug out something from his pocket and pushed it across to Hotch. "See the Reader gets this. I want to meet him; you can pick the time and place if you want."

Morgan got up from the table, tapping it with his hand and walked off. He left Hotch, still eating his soup but the piece of paper Morgan had left out was now gone.

* * *

><p>"George Foyet."<p>

The trench coat wearing enforcer came to a slow stop in the hallway he was stalking down, "What do you want?"

A much older man was walking towards Foyet with a purpose, "You're a hard man to track down."

"Probably because I'm busy, so hurry up, I don't have all day." Foyet snapped and the man grinned easily and motioned for Foyet to follow him into an adjacent room.

"My name is Dante. I work for the central government up in the capital."

"Well, good for you." Foyet snarled and Dante took a small step back.

"I'm in charge of overseeing the investigation into that little underground rebellion that's been gaining steam."

Foyet smirked, "I thought the government didn't acknowledge them."

"Officially, we don't but someone still has to look into it." Dante answered easily.

"So, you found some of them and you want me to…what? Cut them up?"

Dante reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small disc, "View this."

Foyet took the disc with a grumble and pulled out his communication device, slipping the disc in and reading the information.

"Derek Morgan? You think he's in this zone?"

"We believe he's been communicating with several people who work in this very building." Dante supplied, motioning for Foyet to continue reading.

"…Penelope Garcia? No idea who that is but _Hotchner_? I do know that one." Foyet licked his lips, "Very well."

"…alright. We believe that Morgan will either contact them again or come to the zone himself."

"Why would he do a stupid thing like that?"

"We're not sure exactly. We need you to find out."

"And if I find Derek Morgan?" Foyet asked, slipping the disc into his pocket.

"Detain him, at all cost."

* * *

><p>"I can't agree to that Aaron!" Jason Gideon threw up his hand in anger, "Never."<p>

He and Hotch were standing on the steps leading up to the Public Security building. Hotch had called the older man out of his office after his lunch to talk about letting Derek Morgan meet with Spencer Reid.

"I'm asking you to let us see what he thinks, Jason."

"You'll get that boy killed, Aaron. He's a Reader not some sort of…fighter!"

"I only want…" Hotch trailed off, looking up as he noticed Foyet stepping out of the building.

"Afternoon fellas!" Foyet greeted, waving at them both and continued walking until he was out of their view.

"Listen Jason; just tell the kid that I'll be around to collect him at eight o'clock in zone three."

Gideon looked peeved but nodded all the same, "Just promise me something, Aaron." His eyes trailed up to where Foyet had gone, "That you'll look after him."

"Of course." He held out his hand, a slip of paper tucked between his fingers for Gideon to take as they shook hands. "Take care."

* * *

><p>Gideon was back at his desk twenty minutes later, watching his young charge's eyes zoom back and forth reading the streaming code non-stop. He glanced at the clock and saw it was close to five, the code was streaming in slower now and eventually it would stop, allowing Reid to break away without any danger to himself.<p>

"Oh, I saw your key swipe back into the building." Reid announced as he turned away from the now blank screens. "Where'd you go?"

"Aaron Hotchner asked to speak with me."

Reid pushed himself off of his seat, looking downcast, "Did he?"

Gideon handed over the slip of paper to Reid, "He wants you to meet him in zone three at eight o'clock tonight."

"I don't understand…why would he want to meet with me?" Reid checked the paper with interest.

"Maybe you weren't entirely honest with me when I asked what you talked to Aaron about before."

"I…I might have told him about the missing codes…" Reid admitted slowly, unwilling to meet Gideon's gaze.

"Listen to me Reid. What you're playing with…it can be dangerous."

"I know that!" Reid said instantly, "If people are going missing that means something is seriously wrong and isn't it Hotch's job to protect people?"  
>"You're naïve!" Gideon suddenly snapped, "You may be incredibly smart, Dr. Reid but you're still naïve."<p>

Reid inched his way from Gideon, looking hurt but serious, "If you don't think it's a big deal, Gideon then fine. I won't bother you with it anymore."

He picked up his bag and brushed by Gideon in his hurry to leave the Census department. Gideon stood there for a few minutes more, staring at the door until he sank down into his own chair, feeling miserable and wondering why he gave a damn what Reid did at all.

"Kids these days, am I right?"

Gideon stiffened and finally forced himself to turn around to face the man standing in his doorway.

"Foyet."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well here's a little background info for anyone that's curious<strong>

**Readers: **Readers are individuals with extremely high intelligences, their minds work just as fast as computers and because of this they are often used as liaisons between man and machine. Most Readers are used as information gathers but some have been known to use their skills to sneak codes from banks and sell the information on the side. A highly skilled Reader can digest a day's worth of code in about a week, Spencer Reid can do it in a few hours.

**Keycards: **Every legitimate member of society must carry on them at all times an identification card and a keycard. Keycards work like an all purpose ATM card. If you want food, you'll slide your keycard at the store and the money will be taken from the linked bank account. Even going to the movies, a park or the library requires a keycard swipe which is then sent to computers in the Census department so the government can keep track of what its citizens are doing.

**Codes: **When a keycard is used the information is broken down into a code and sent to a main computer. This code comes in at such high amounts and speeds that computer uses much of its energy simply accepting codes. Readers are used to translate the code into English for the government to analyze. Codes are also used in other major facilities, such as banks, hospitals and stores.

**Enforcers:** Members of the elite police force call themselves this. They are known for being brutal and efficient in dealing with anything ranging from robberies to plots against the government.


	4. Meeting

**Don't own CM**

**Thank you so much to all reviewers! I really appreciate it! **

* * *

><p>"You're surprisingly right on time." Aaron Hotchner breathed out as he saw Spencer Reid amble through the checkpoint that separated zone two from three.<p>

"Well, after you scared that officer into not hassling me anymore, I've been surprisingly punctual." Reid replied with a soft smile. "So, are we going to talk about-"

Hotch's abrupt motion cut him off as he silenced the Reader with a look and allowed his eyes to direct Reid to the guards that were still nearby, "Follow me."

Hotch led him through the zones, weaving in and out of alleyways, never stopping but he seemed to know where he was going. Reid on the other hand, was taking in all the sights. They were passing through another zone…eight by his count and he was shocked at how poorly the people were being treated. There were bars on all the windows and most of the stores were charging prices that were ridiculous, even to Reid, who now held a government job.

A young woman was walking with her son down the street, pulling the small boy as if in a rush.

"Come! Tanner! We have to get home before curfew!" The desperation was clear in her voice but the boy was dragging his heels.

"But I wanna play!"

"No, Tanner, please!"

Reid watched in fascination as the hour turned and a siren went off immediately after. Hotch grabbed Reid around the elbow and held him still.

"Don't move."

A few moments later a vehicle came careening around a corner with two helmeted security officers on top of it.

"Freeze! There are two keycard signals breaking curfew in this block. Scanning will commence."

Reid stood close to Hotch as the vehicle lined up with them and he noticed that one of the officers was holding a device that had four dots on its screen, two were red and two were blue. The officer held the device up at Hotch and Reid and looked at it for a moment, "These two are clear, sir."  
>"Then it must be…" The vehicle took off towards the mother and her son, who was sobbing in fear now. They parked the vehicle and hopped off of it.<p>

"Ma'am, do you realize you have just broken curfew?" The first man barked.

"I'm sorry, it's just…my son…"

"You're going to have to come with us."

"No! I, please-"

Reid would never see how the situation ended.

Hotch pulled him deftly down an alley and away from the street they were on.

"What's going to happen to them?"

"They'll be fined if it's their first offense." Hotch replied.

"And if it's not?"

Hotch didn't answer him.

* * *

><p>Derek Morgan had secured a street in zone eight for his meeting with Spencer Reid through a series of bribes and lies and he felt it was secure enough for the moment.<p>

"I can't believe you got that stiff Hotch to actually bring that Reader here." Prentiss hissed out, pulling her coat tighter around her slim body.

"Hotch knows this is what we need." Morgan stated, "He knows this kid is our best shot at taking them down."

Prentiss didn't look too convinced, "I pulled his academy files. He was top in his class and recommended for his job by the director of the academy but he's young…"

"Then it's time for him to grow up, isn't it?" Morgan answered quietly and Prentiss knew she had accidentally struck a nerve.

When Morgan had been only a child, his father had been killed by Public Security after he had unearthed a file that proved that one of the enforcers was being paid to practically assassinate people.

Derek Morgan had been raised to respect and trust the system but on that day he realized that the system was so flawed that it needed to be taken down.

It wasn't an overnight process and Morgan spent the better part of his life simply sticking it to the man whenever he could as he planned and schemed. It wasn't until a few years ago that he really found pay dirt. A good friend of his mother, a bright man who spent most of his life studying plants, suddenly vanished one day. His mother had asked him to look into it and when he went to the man's home it had been emptied of everything as if no one had ever lived there. His keycard was no longer streaming data and try as he might Morgan couldn't find any evidence that the man had been killed.

If the man had been killed Morgan probably would have hit a dead end anyway. People died all the time in the sector, some from starvation, others from fights with other slum dwellers or from some sick enforcer just out to have his fun. It was then Morgan theorized that problem citizens were being taken somewhere and most likely dumped outside the sector, probably to fend for themselves.

If it was true, it promised to be exactly what the resistance needed. They could go to this area and bring back the people to testify and to prove to the whole sector that the government was corrupt.

The plan wasn't solid yet but with a Reader who could prove that people's identity codes were simply being wiped off the grid combined with an actual witness, it had merit.

"They're here." Prentiss muttered and she walked off to take her position at the end of the alleyway to make sure no one would disturb the meeting. She nodded towards Hotch as he led Reid past and towards Morgan.

"Doctor Spencer Reid, meet Derek Morgan." Hotch introduced them and then stepped back to allow them to begin what needed to be done, checking his watch as he did so.

They shook hands but Spencer found himself frowning at Morgan's smiling face, "I've never seen your information in the code before."  
>Morgan laughed deeply, "That's because I live off the grid. Makes it much harder for people like Hotch over there to track me down."<p>

Reid found himself intrigued by someone who could live off the grid and opened his mouth to ask a fountain of questions but Morgan wisely cut him off.

"I can answer anything you need me to answer later, right now we have to talk…"

Reid stood still during the epic tale Morgan weaved for him. A story about how the government had strayed, how the people were starving, being abused and disappearing. Hotch added in his own commentary when he felt it was necessary but soon found himself so overloaded that it was as if he took in an entire month's worth of code in an hour.

"But…why?" Reid finally asked as Morgan grew quiet, his hands shaking.

"Power, their corrupt…the whys don't really matter. The fact is, we have to stop them."

"…I…" Reid glanced over at Hotch but found the man's face impassive, "I'll help. What do you need?"

Morgan grinned, "Nothing right now. Just go back to work like you always do but continue logging anything weird you see on the side for Hotch to collect. Do you know any other Readers who might want to help?"

Reid thought for a moment, "Tobias Hankel, he was in my class at the academy. He was very skilled at altering code. He was a good guy, he'd help."

Morgan nodded and signaled over to Prentiss, "We'll look into him. Now remember, just keep a low profile. I'm not asking you to fight a war or anything."

"…right."

* * *

><p>Reid was quiet the whole walk back to his zone with Hotch steady at his side.<p>

"…are you alright?" Hotch finally asked with a quiet sigh.

"Yes…I am. It's just a lot to process. How can you even go back to work for Public Security knowing what you do?"

"Because the alternative is to end up either killed or sent away." Hotch slowed to a stop and looked Reid square in the eye, "It's not ideal but sometimes all you can do is simply stay alive."

Reid glanced away in embarrassment, "I didn't mean to imply you were a coward or anything."  
>"I know you didn't. Now get some sleep and don't be late to work tomorrow."<p>

"I won't be."

Reid bid Hotch a good night and walked back to his home, scanning himself in and feeling his knees go weak. Now that he was home and alone he could realistically think about the implications of what he had gotten himself into. He knew that both Morgan and Hotch would frown upon it but he decided to ask Gideon what he thought about the situation tomorrow. The older man was smart and seemed to know what was going on and Reid knew he'd be a good mentor for him. With the idea of being able to talk it over with Gideon in his mind, Reid was finally able to go to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: We find out how Gideon's talk with Foyet went. <strong>


	5. Questions

**Thank you all reviewers!**

**Don't own CM**

* * *

><p>The Department was in utter chaos when Reid arrived at the main gate in the morning. Public Security officers were issuing orders to enforcers and workers alike, trying to create a sense of calm.<p>

"What's going on?" Reid asked a nearby officer who did a double take at his appearance.

"You're that Reader. Come with me." He sized Reid by the arm and dragged him over to the taped off area leading to the Census Department.

"Please…what's going on?" Reid asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed as he was taken down to the bottom level. There were more people in the Census room then he had ever seen, taking photos and scanning items.

"There was a break in here last night, a fight broke out from what we understand and we ended up taking someone to the hospital."

Something seized in Reid's chest and his vision swam in front of him. Only he and Gideon were ever in here…only he and Gideon…

"Where is Jason Gideon?"

The guard blanched at the question and sighed, "That's the name. We took him to the hospital with multiple wounds but I don't know more than that. Now, I need to ask you a few questions about-HEY!"

Reid had turned on his heel and rushed off, pushing back bustling workers and forcing his way out of the building. His vision was swimming and guilt was hammering in his chest. He wasn't naïve enough to think this was just an accident.

"Woah, kiddo!"

Someone grabbed him roughly around the arm, jerking him into a harsh stop. Reid found himself looking into the face of George Foyet. Foyet kept his hand tightly around Reid and brought his wrist up to his mouth and spoke into it.

"I have the runner. Call off the search, the boy didn't get a hundred feet from the building."

Foyet finished speaking and turned, pulling Reid in front of himself.

"You are a naughty, naughty Reader and you're going to answer a few questions."

* * *

><p>Hotch had received the news about the attack on the Census mere moments after it had occurred. He had secured himself a transport and gone to collect Jason Gideon's statement at the hospital but when he got there he realized the situation was far worse than he had thought. Gideon looked like hell, numerous slash marks covered his face and body and his eyes were nearly swollen shut.<p>

"Jason…"

The nurse, who was setting up his iv, winced in sympathy and Hotch looked over at her, "How is he?"

"I'm sorry you came all this way. He'll be out for some time and even then we don't know if he'll recover."

Hotch nodded, he had hoped that Gideon would have been in stable condition but that was clearly not the case. He hadn't seen a man this beat up since a young forger Foyet had brought in.

Hotch grabbed his communicator and brought up a menu and searched for Foyet's location when a small alert in the corner caught his eye. He clicked it open a read the first two messages.

One was about the assault at the Census and the other was that the Reader was needed for questioning.

A third popped up saying the Reader had run.

And the last message that came in just as he finished the first ones was that the Reader had been taken for questioning by an Enforcer.

George Foyet.

* * *

><p>Prentiss was lounging about on a couch while Morgan was communicating with another member of the resistance.<p>

"I think it's a good lead to follow Blackwolf but you know you'd have to do it on your own…"

Prentiss stopped listening after that as Morgan's communicator went off. She glanced back at him before reaching forward to swipe it off of the table. She read the message and her dark eyes went wide at its contents.

"Derek!"

* * *

><p>Foyet slinked around the table with a soft smile on his hard features, his eyes scanning the Reader, who was jittery and clearly frightened.<p>

"So…after work last night…you went, I'm sorry, where again?"

Reid ducked his head, letting his hair become a shield between himself and Foyet, "I went home."

"With Aaron Hotchner coming with you?"

Reid meet Foyet's eyes then and narrowed them, "Agent Hotchner knows I've been getting…pushed around by the zone guards. He was making sure it didn't happen again."

Foyet dramatically placed a hand over his heart, "What a little angel. Aaron was always one of the good ones."

Reid nodded in agreement, unsure of what else he was supposed to do at that moment until Foyet slammed a hand down onto the table.

"Now listen here you little _shit_. The way I see it, there's only two reasons Aaron Hotchner would take you anywhere and that's either to bang out some frustrations or to introduce you to his little pal Derek Morgan."

Reid managed to force his surprise into disgust, "I don't know a Derek Morgan and he's definitely not _banging _any frustrations out with me."

"Pity." Foyet moved to say more but the door behind him opened with a fierce force that Foyet could only frown at.

"Agent Hotchner! We were just talking about you."

"Enforcers don't question suspects, Foyet."

Foyet eased his frown into smooth smile and sauntered over to Hotch, throwing an arm around the raven haired man. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you wanted the glory."

"Leave. Now."

Foyet nodded slowly and left the room, leaving Reid and Hotch alone.

"Hotc-"

"Not here. Get your things, we're leaving."

* * *

><p>Foyet fumed in the hallway, feeling the itch to cut someone-Hotchner up. He turned to stalk off to find someone to take his agressions out on when he came face to face with Dante.<p>

"I heard about the terrible problem at the Census. Good work."

Foyet sneered, "Fat good it did. Hotchner got here quicker than we anticipated."

"Perfectly fine. Follow me."

Foyet followed Dante to the lowest level of the building, growing more and more impatient with the secretive man.

"Is there a point to this?" Foyet snarled and Dante lifted his hand to punch in a code at the door.

"This is my office, one of the most secure places, complete with my very own Reader."

"What do you need a Reader for?" Foyet asked.

"I like to be kept aware of things." Dante responded as he closed the door behind Foyet. "He'll be able to track Hotchner's next move, I assure you."

He walked over to the Reader, whose station consisted for several dozen computer screens and was muttering darkly to himself as he read the streaming code.

"Tobias, begin tracking Aaron Hotchner. Priority 001."

The young man's dark muttering stopped and he turned to stare almost meekly at Dante.

"Yes sir."


End file.
